On 6 January 2025, Meta, the parent company of Facebook and WhatsApp, filed an appeal in the NCLAT (National Company Law Appellate Tribunal) against the Rs 213 crore CCI penalty. The fine was imposed for the company’s alleged abuse of its dominant position related to WhatsApp’s 2021 privacy policy.
The case is expected to be heard by the Principal Bench of NCLAT, led by Chairman Justice Ashok Bhushan, on January 16, 2025.
The antitrust regulator CCI (Competition Commission of India) claims that the company’s privacy policy is neither transparent nor based on the voluntary consent of users. According to CCI, this policy can result in excessive data collection and stalking for targeted advertising to attract more users.
Earlier, the CCI informed the court that because it granted Facebook and instant messaging platforms time to file replies on probes, the antitrust regulator couldn’t investigate WhatsApp’s 2021 privacy policy. Back in 2021, CCI decided to investigate Whatsapp’s updated privacy policy following some reports. The regulatory observed that users weren’t offered a choice to object or opt out of specific data-sharing terms.
WhatsApp and Facebook challenged the CCI’s March 2021 single-judge order directing a probe against them, arguing that the issue concerning the new policy was already under High Court and Supreme Court consideration. However, the single judge didn’t prohibit investigation.
